Pub rock (United Kingdom)
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Pub rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock and flashy glam rock scenes at the time. Although short-lived, pub rock was played live in small traditional venues like pubs and clubs.[1] Since major labels showed no interest in pub rock groups, pub bands sought out independent record labels such as Stiff Records. Indie labels used relatively inexpensive recording processes, so they had a much lower break-even point for a record than a major label.
With pub rock's emphasis on small venues, simple, fairly inexpensive recordings and indie record labels, it was the catalyst for the development of the British
Characteristics
Pub rock was deliberately nasty, dirty and post-glam.[2] Dress style was based around denim and checked shirts, tatty jeans and droopy hair.[3] The figureheads of the movement, Dr. Feelgood, were noted for their frontman's filthy white suit.[4] Bands looked menacing and threatening, "like villains on The Sweeney".[5] According to David Hepworth, Dr. Feelgood looked as if they had "come together in some unsavoury section of the army".
Pub rock groups disdained any form of flashy presentation. Scene leaders like Dr. Feelgood, Kilburn and the High Roads and Ducks Deluxe played simple, "back to mono" rhythm and blues in the tradition of white British groups like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, with fuzzy overdriven guitars and whiny vocals.[5] Lesser known acts played funky soul (Kokomo, Clancy, Cado Belle) or country rock (the Kursaal Flyers, Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers).[6] While pub rockers did not have expensive stage shows, they took inspiration from early R&B and increased the dynamism and intensity of their live shows.[7] Pub rock allowed a variety of singers and musicians to perform, even if they did not adhere to a clearly defined musical genre.[7] Major labels scouted pub rock acts, thinking they might find the next Beatles at a local pub; however A&R representatives decided that pub rock did not have potential for mass market hits.[7] With no interest from major labels, pub rockers put out their records through small independent record labels such as Stiff Records and Chiswick Records.[7]
By 1975, the standard for mainstream rock album recordings was expensive, lengthy studio recording processes overseen by highly-paid
The pub rock scene was primarily a live phenomenon. During the peak years of 1972 to 1975, there was just one solitary Top 20 single (Ace's "How Long"), and all the bands combined sold less than an estimated 150,000 albums.[9] Many acts suffered in the transition from pub to studio recording and were unable to recapture their live sound.[6] The genre's primary characteristic is, as the name suggests, the pub. By championing smaller venues, the bands reinvigorated a local club scene that had dwindled since the 1960s as bands priced themselves into big theatres and stadia.[6] New aspiring bands could now find venues to play without needing to have a record company behind them.
Pub rock was generally restricted to
History
American country-rock band
Most of the venues were in large Victorian pubs "north of Regents Park", where there were plenty of suitable establishments.
Following the Tally Ho and the Hope and Anchor came the Cock, the Brecknock, the Lord Nelson, the Greyhound in
In 1974, pub rock was the hottest scene in London.
Pub rock was rapidly overtaken by the UK punk explosion after spawning what are now seen as several proto-punk bands. Some artists were able to make the transition by jumping ship to new outfits, notably Joe Strummer, Ian Dury and Elvis Costello.[6] A few stalwarts were later able to realise Top 40 chart success, but the moment was gone. Many of the actual pubs themselves survived as punk venues (especially the Nashville and The Hope & Anchor),[6] but a range of notable pubs such as the George Robey and the Pied Bull have since been closed or demolished. The Newlands Tavern survived. Now called The Ivy House, in 2023 it is once again a thriving music venue showcasing many new bands.
Legacy
According to Nostalgia Central, "Pub rock may have been killed by punk, but without it there might not have been any punk in Britain at all".
Apart from the ready-made live circuit, punk also inherited the energy of pub rock guitar heroes like Dr. Feelgood's Wilko Johnson, his violence and mean attitude.[4] Dr. Feelgood have since been described as John the Baptist to punk's messiahs.[21] In the gap between the music-press hype and vinyl releases of early punk, the rowdier Pub Rock bands even led the charge for those impatient for actual recorded music,[4] but it was not to last.
Punks such as Sex Pistols singer John Lydon eventually rejected the pub rock bands as "everything that was wrong with live music" because they had failed to fight the stadium scene and, as he saw it, preferred to narrow themselves into an exclusive pub clique.[3] The back-to-basics approach of pub rock apparently involved chord structures that were still too complicated for punk guitarists like the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones, who complained "if we had played those complicated chords we would have sounded like Dr. Feelgood or one of those pub rock bands".[22] By the time the Year Zero of punk (1976) was over, punks wanted nothing to do with pub rockers.[23] Bands like the Stranglers were shunned but they did not care.[24]
It was independent record label Stiff Records, formed from a £400 loan from Dr. Feelgood's Lee Brilleaux, who went on to release the first British punk single—The Damned's "New Rose".[24] Stiff Records' early clientele consisted of a mix of pub rockers and punk rock acts for which they became known.
See also
- British popular music
- Garage rock
- List of public house topics
- Mod revival
- New wave music
- Power pop
- Roots rock
- Oi!
- Pub rock (Australia)
References
- ^ "Pub Rock | Music". Britannica.com. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ a b Savage (1991), p. 587.
- ^ a b Lydon (1995), p. 106.
- ^ a b c d e f g Atkinson, Mike. "Give pub rock another chance". The Guardian. 21 January 2010. Retrieved on 19 January 2011.
- ^ a b c Savage (1991), p. 81.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Carr, Roy. "Pub Rock". NME. 29 October 1977.
- ^ a b c d e Laing, Dave. One Chord Wonders: Power and Meaning in Punk Rock. PM Press, 2015. p. 18
- ^ a b Laing, Dave. One Chord Wonders: Power and Meaning in Punk Rock. PM Press, 2015. p. 19
- ^ a b "Pub Rock". Nostalgiacentral.com. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ Laing, Dave. One Chord Wonders: Power and Meaning in Punk Rock. PM Press, 2015. p. 17
- ^ Laing, Dave. One Chord Wonders: Power and Meaning in Punk Rock. PM Press, 2015. p. 16
- ^ Birch (2003), pp. 120–129
- ^ "Pub Rock". Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ "Kokomo". Kokomo. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Pub Rock- Pre Punk music". Punk77.co.uk. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
- ^ Savage (1991), p. 80.
- ^ Savage (1991), p. 107 & 124.
- ^ Savage (1991), p. 151.
- ^ Lydon (1995), p. 94.
- ^ Lydon (1995), p. 105.
- ^ "The Dr Feelgood factor | Features | Culture". The Independent. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ Lydon (1995), p. 87.
- ^ Lydon (1995), p. 107.
- ^ a b Savage (1991), p. 215.
Sources
- Blaney, John (2011) – A Howlin' Wind: Pub Rock and the Birth of New Wave (London: Soundcheck Books). ISBN 0-9566420-4-7
- ISBN 0-312-28822-0
- ISBN 0-312-11883-X
- ISBN 0-7535-0740-4.
- Abad, Javier (2002) "Música y Cerveza" (Editorial Milenio. Spain) ISBN 84-9743-041-7
Suggested listening
- Goodbye Nashville Hello Camden Town: A Pub Rock Anthology (Castle Music, 2XCD compilation, 2007)
- Pub Rock: Paving The Way For Punk (Beloved Recordings, compilation CD, 1998)
- Surrender To The Rhythm: The London Pub Rock Scene Of The Seventies (Grapefruit Records, 3XCD compilation, 2020)
- Saturday Night! The Best Of Pub Rock (Carlton Sounds,CD compilation, 1997)
- No Contest (Thunderbolt, CD compilation, 2000)
- A Pint Of Your Best Pub Rock, Please! (Nectar, CD compilation, 1997)
- A Bunch Of Stiff Records (Stiff Records, LP, 1977)
- Naughty Rhythms The Best Of Pub Rock (EMI Premier, 2XCD compilation 1996)
Suggested viewing
- Punk Britannia Part 2 Pre-punk: 1972-1976 (2012, dir. Sam Bridges) - Documentary from a three-part TV series on the BBC
External links
- Southend Music Venues Archived 18 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine by Southend Sites
- Pub Rock at Nostalgia Central